Just Who Exactly is Serena Rysendri?
by Serena the Great
Summary: Part one; introduces Serena Rysendri and Harry Potter, back in first year. This only includes summer and the train ride to Hogwarts, and a part at the end about what she does in the next five years because I can’t be bothered to write all five years.
1. Part 1: Serena Rysendri

**Just Who Exactly is Serena Rysendri? **

_**Part One: The first five years**_

**Chapter One: Serena Rysendri**

Disclaimer: I own _nothing!_ Well, except for the stuff that is mine. Some scenes from H.P. & Philosopher's Stone. which aren't mine. I own Serena! Yay! Oh, everything you don't recognise probably belongs to me. Everything is J. K. Rowling's except what is mine (unless otherwise specified), SO THERE! No lawyers will be eating me for breakfast!

Summary: Part one; introduces Serena Rysendri and Harry Potter, back in first year. This only includes summer and the train ride to Hogwarts, and a part at the end about what she does in the next five years because I can't be bothered to write all five years. There probably won't be any slash, and not any with Harry and someone, as I already spent ages making up an OC to get him together with.

A/N, just going to ask that you wade through this two chapter part, please read the next part before you decide that my fic sucks. Many thanks. StG

* * *

Women who want to be equal to men have no ambition.

* * *

Serena re-checked the note, just to make sure she had all her school items for her first year.

"Ok, all I need now is a wand," she told her mother.

"All right, honey. You know where Mr Ollivander's is, and we have to get Ivory some more owl pellets, so I'll wait for you at the Magical Menagerie," her mother, Caterina, replied, looking to the snowy owl perched on Serena's shoulder.

Her mother whistled and Ivory flew over to her, landing on her outstretched arm. Caterina looked like a model, standing gracefully with an outstretched arm for the owl. Serena was envious of her mother's looks. Her waist-length hair was silver but it didn't make her look old, it just made her look as though each strand of her hair had been dipped in silver metal and then softened, and people had frequently asked her if she was a veela. She had natural grace and elegance, which appeared to have skipped Serena altogether, and fair skin and eyes as blue as sapphires.

Serena, on the other hand, was almost the complete opposite. Where Caterina's hair seemed to have been dipped in silver, hers seemed to have been dipped in gold, and it already matched the length of her mother's, though this meant that her hair was near her knees. She had slightly tanned skin, and light jade green eyes that shifted colour to reflect the colours around her. Her mother was tall and slender, without being too thin, but Serena thought that she was doomed to spend the rest of her life as a short, too skinny little girl. When she had told her mother this, she had comforted her, saying that she would grow into it, and shown her pictures of when she had been a small, too skinny little girl.

Serena waved to her mother, then turned and headed towards Ollivander's. She opened the door and walked in, but stopped when she saw another eleven-year-old boy being measured. Her heart skipped a beat. He was the most handsome boy she had ever seen, and she had seen quite a few handsome boys at her mother's dinner parties. He had black hair that stuck up from his head, he was rather skinny and wore clothes that were too big for him, and, even though she couldn't see his face, she knew he was nervous because of his posture.

She went to sit down on the chair in the corner; she had been here many times before seeing as her mother was a personal friend of Mr Ollivander (her mother was a personal friend of lots of people), but found that it had been broken. Although, _flattened_ would probably be closer. She saw a large man leaning against the wall, and she let out a small squeak of surprise at how _big_ the man was.

The large man and the boy turned to look at her. She saw the boy's green eyes, as deep emerald as her own, and his elegantly curved nose, and thought _the only thing wrong with him is those glasses, easily rectified_, and was then horrified at herself for thinking something like that. _I don't even know his name!_

The boy gave her a weak smile, then turned back to Mr Ollivander, who was showing him various wands. Serena sensed the large man watching her and she turned to look at him. His eyes crinkled and his beard twitched upwards, and she realized that he was smiling. She smiled back at him, weakly, and then returned to staring at the boy.

She saw him blow up a vase, as well as several other objects, before a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end of a wand made of holly, and Mr Ollivander wrapped up the wand, muttering something to himself. He talked to the boy for a while, before he paid for his wand and left the shop with the large man.

"Ah, little miss Rysendri. I was beginning to think you had forgotten your new wand." Said Mr Ollivander from behind her.

"What? Oh, no. No I haven't," she stuttered, still staring after the boy.

Ollivander stared with her.

"Curious boy that," he told her. "Very curious."

"What's his name?" Serena asked him then felt extraordinarily embarrassed about it.

_He isn't allowed to just hand out customers names like that,_ she silently scolded herself, but Mr Ollivander just stared at her as though he was surprised that she didn't know already.

"That young man is Harry Potter."

Serena nearly fell over.

"Harry…Harry Potter?" _Great, I have a crush on the famous Harry Potter. Probably half the female population at Hogwarts will have a crush on him, although maybe for different purposes._

"Yes, now if you wouldn't mind stepping this way," he said, and showed her over to the desk, where a tape measure started to measure her.

She had already been to Ollivander's to buy a wand when she was little, but was getting a new one because her mother had installed a Child Safe Charm on the other wand so that she couldn't do anything other than simple spells. Of course, she had been allowed to use her mother's wand when she was practicing healing charms, which were her speciality.

The tape finished measuring her, and Mr Ollivander went to the back of the store, and returned with his arms loaded full of wands, which he then placed on the counter in front of her.

"Right. Yew and unicorn hair. Ten and a half inches, flexible." He said, handing her a wand.

She swished it, and promptly blew up a lamp that Harry had carelessly missed.

"No, apparently not. Try this, oak and dragon heartstring. Eight inches, inflexible."

After fifteen minutes, there was a pile of wands on the floor, which came up to Serena's knees.

"Hmm, maybe…"

Mr Ollivander walked over to the door in the back of the shop, leaving Serena standing at the counter wondering if he had given up. But, a minute later he returned with a slim box, which looked like all the others, except for a picture of a unicorn inlaid in gold on the front.

"This wand is not just an ordinary wand. The handle is golden sunstone, and the rest is oak. Twelve and a third inches, swishy."

She carefully took the wand from the box, and gave herself a minute to admire the craftsmanship before she tested it.

She swished the wand gently, and a rope of light came out, winding itself around her head like a halo. The light rope suddenly shattered and the pieces fell down, almost as if it was a shower of stars.

"Well, I guess that is that," Mr Ollivander said, almost regretfully.

"Er, Mr Ollivander? What's in the middle of my wand?"

"Unicorn's horn. That's why the sunstone is needed." He told her.

"A unicorn's horn?" she asked, looking horrified. "You didn't…"

"No, I did not kill the unicorn. When I was gathering the ingredients for making a wand, an old unicorn came up to me. He told me that he was about to die, I was most surprised when he started to talk, and he wanted me to make a wand with his horn in it. I was, of course, horrified, but he eventually convinced me and told me how to make it. Now, I want you to never tell anyone what is in your wand, otherwise someone may take it from you. Take good care of it."

She paid him the galleons for the wand, then silently left the shop and headed towards the Magical Menagerie, missing the quiet muttering of "_Curious day I'm having_…_ a very curious day,_" from Ollivander. When she came in the store, her mother looked over at her from a cage full of kittens and beckoned her over.

"Hello, did you get your wand?" Caterina asked her.

Serena showed her mother her wand.

"Oh, how exquisite!" exclaimed her mother, and she examined the wand from all angles before handing it back to her daughter. "I never thought that there was even a wand made that was so beautiful. Oh, did you see the kittens?"

Serena smiled at her, and laughed, then turned to look at the kittens.

"MEW!"

She saw a beautiful black kitten with a silvery star shaped marking on her head, sitting up and staring at her through the bars of the cage.

"Oh, mother look! Isn't she adorable!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, she is isn't she? You don't have a cat yet, unless you sneaked one in last night. Although, you might have one that I don't remember…" her mother teased.

There were so many animals in their house, she couldn't count them. There was her owl, her horse, her fish (all twenty-seven of them), her mouse, her small Crup (which resembles a Jack Russell Terrier), her Diricawl, her two small, custard coloured Puffskeins, the Bowtruckle infested tree out on the front lawn, the thousands of fairies scattered around the mansion, the Snidget sanctuary out the back, and her mothers bright pink Fwooper.

"Nope, no cat yet." Serena said.

"Well then, do you want one?" her mother asked.

"Oh, yes please! That one there!" she said excitedly.

The witch at the counter came over and pulled out the small black kitten and handed it to her. The kitten looked up at her with aqua blue eyes, and started to purr, then climbed onto her shoulder and became a small, fluffy black lump. Serena giggled at the kitten, and paid the witch at the counter. Her mother bought a packet of 'Owl's Option' food pellets, as well as an enchanted feather duster (which dusted the floor continuously) and food for the kitten.

"Alright, let's be off, then," said Caterina, and they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Rysendri Manor."

Serena spun around and around, before finally coming to a sudden stop and tripping out of the giant fireplace. When she had stumbled to a halt, her mother came out of the fireplace, looking poised and elegant without a speckle of soot on her long, white dress. Ivory had fared about as well as Serena, and came out looking as though she was a large ball of soot. The kitten, which she had decided to call Ebony, strutted out of the fireplace as though she had done it a thousand times before, and probably didn't have any soot on her either (although, it was hard to tell).

"Madam Caterina, Miss Serena," greeted the butler, before turning towards her mother and ignoring Serena. "Madam, Mr Malfoy and the Mr Weasley are already downstairs trying to tear each other apart, and Madam Bones is _trying_ to stop them. It's a good thing she has an important position in the ministry or they would probably be trying to kill each other."

"Oh, dear! I had almost forgotten that we had a dinner tonight. I hope they have not destroyed the entrance hall too much. I don't know why I even bother to invite either family if they are always going to destroy the manor beyond recognition." Caterina said, using her more formal voice. "Serena dear? Please go to your room and dress in some clean clothes."

"Yes mother," she said, heading towards the staircase to her attic room with Ebony close behind.

Serena plucked out her favourite dinner dress, which was a light green, the same shade as her eyes. It was fashioned medieval style, and the sleeves came out slightly at the bottom, but not too far because she had once had a dress with knee-length sleeves, which she had dipped it in soup twice in one night, then sat on one causing it to rip, and since then her mother hadn't trusted her with any sleeves longer than her fingertips. It had a fairly modest neckline (she _was_ only eleven) and the hem at the bottom was brought up to the ankle and embroidered with gold roses, which wound up the skirt.

She added a necklace with a rose pendant of jade and ruby around her neck, and the matching earrings in her ears, before getting out a sapphire studded collar for Ebony. She wrapped half of her hair into a bun, which surrounded the remaining hair, making it into a ponytail, then walked out of her room and down the stairs with Ebony following.

Lucius Malfoy was glowering at the eight Weasleys at the opposite end of the table. _Oh, owl's droppings_, she thought with distaste, _Draco is here as well_. Caterina had been adamant that there would be at least one more dinner party before Serena went to Hogwarts, and had arranged a party between most of the pureblood families currently in England. Not that she was against muggle born witches and wizards, but it was expected of her to only associate with the other purebloods in her social class, with her being a billionaire (most of which she inherited) and in one of the oldest pureblood families in the world. This also attained Serena the flamboyant title of 'Billionaire Heiress Of One Of The Oldest Pureblood Families In The World'.

"You are getting faster," her mother whispered to her when she sat down, "You only took six minutes."

"Thanks," she replied, and sat next to Nymphadora Tonks, her favourite cousin (although admittedly she was her second cousin thrice removed).

Halfway through the meal, people started to make small talk, which Serena found extremely boring until Andromeda Tonks started to talk about a subject that immediately caught her attention.

"Did you hear? Harry Potter shall be attending Hogwarts this year," she stated absently, and the table suddenly broke out into chatter.

"Wow, Harry Potter."

"That means he'll be in the same year as you, Ron!"

"Wonder what he looks like…"

"He's rather skinny, and his hair is a total disaster, but he has the prettiest green eyes…" Serena said, and everyone turned to look at her. "What?"

"Have you met him?" asked Tonks, who hated it when she was called Nymphadora.

"Oh, if you count seeing him in Ollivander's as meeting him," she replied, and everyone turned back to their conversations.

After the dinner, when all the adults were chatting in the library (except for the Malfoy's who had gone home immediately after dinner, even though Narcissa had wanted to stay and talk to her sister, Andromeda), Serena was outside talking to Tonks, Ginny Weasley and Susan Bones, whilst watching Fred and George Weasley putting their heads together to try and catch Serena's extraordinarily elusive Diricawl. Ron, who was probably her only male friend her age, was sitting on the staircase playing fetch with her Crup, Sniffles (isn't that ironic?). Tonks was demonstrating her Metamorphmagus to Ginny and Susan, by changing her hair to every colour from white, to fluro pink.

"I can't believe you met Harry Potter." Said Ginny, and they proceeded to fire questions at Serena about him.

"Is he cute?"

"Did he talk to you?"

"How did he look?"

Serena answered all the questions as best she could, and they all had glazed looks as they dreamed of him (except for Tonks, who insisted that she was too old for him). Eventually, it was midnight, and the witches and wizards left, Arthur Weasley carrying Ginny who had fallen asleep shortly after eleven.

"Serena? Time to go to bed, and don't forget Ebony!" Caterina called out to her.

She said goodnight to her mother, and dragged herself up the staircase. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows, and so she didn't even notice when Ebony jumped up onto the bed and wriggled her way under the blankets, then fell asleep in the curve of her knees.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Yes, I do realize that witches and wizards aren't allowed to do magic out of school when they are underage, but in my story there is a special type of wand that they can get, if the ministry approves it, to practice magic before they go to school, which is why Serena could get one because of here mother and the amount of money and influence on the ministry their family has.

And for those who wonder about why Caterina was still in the Magical Menagerie, it actually says that she was waiting for her there.

Please read and review, tell me if I should fix some stuff up, etc. constructive criticism welcome (notice the word _constructive_), but if you are just reviewing to be nasty about everything I write, please go and read something more to your liking instead of complaining about everything I write about.

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	2. Part 1: Harry Potter

**Just Who Exactly is Serena Rysendri? **

_**Part One: The first five years**_

**Chapter Two: Harry Potter**

Disclaimer: I own _nothing!_ Well, except for the stuff that is mine. Some scenes from H.P. & Philosopher's Stone. which aren't mine. I own Serena! Yay! Everything you don't recognise probably belongs to me. Everything is J. K. Rowling's except what is mine (or someone else's), SO THERE! No lawyers eating me for breakfast:pokes tongue out at the surrounding crowd of lawyers waiting for the story to have no disclaimer:

Summary: Part one; introduces Serena Rysendri and Harry Potter, back in first year. This only includes summer and the train ride to Hogwarts, and a part at the end about what she does in the next five years because I can't be bothered to write all five years. There probably won't be any slash, and not any with Harry and someone, as I already spent ages making up an OC to get him together with.

PART TWO IS UP NOW!

* * *

A computer once beat me at chess. But it was no match for me at kick boxing.

* * *

"Serena, are you ready to go?" Caterina called up the stairs to her daughter. "If you leave Ivory here, I'll send her to you with anything you've forgotten, but we need to leave now, or you'll miss the train!"

_Why didn't I finish packing last night?_ Serena asked herself, desperately.

"Argh!" she yelled, and gave up looking for her copy of 'Magical Drafts and Potions', which she had been particularly interested in, and had somehow gotten it memorised, but managed to loose the real book.

She ran down the stairs and almost crashed into her mother, who had been coming up to help her. They ran down the stairs, well, Serena ran and Caterina glided, and raced out the door to the waiting limousine. Serena got in the car, and saw that a special section had been added for Ebony, who was happily asleep on a large down cushion.

"Kings Cross Station, please James," her mother called out to the driver, who tipped his hat in response, and started the limo.

Serena ate her breakfast of butter on toast and orange juice on the way and, other than a small mishap when the car went over a speed bump, which resulted in an orange juiced cat, it was a rather unexciting trip. They loaded Serena's luggage onto a trolley, and walked over to platform nine.

"Molly! So nice to see you here. I was worried that we were going to be late, with miss sleep-in-until-nine-thirty, here," said her mother, walking over to Mrs Weasley.

Ginny rolled her eyes, then tugged on her mother's sleeve.

"Mum, it's nearly ten, the train will be leaving soon!"

Mrs Weasley looked at the clock. "Oh, dear! Well, lets be off then."

Serena went through the barrier between platforms nine and ten, and came out onto platform nine and three quarters. She was shortly followed by Ginny, her mother and Mrs Weasley.

"Oh, Hi Ron!" Serena called when she saw him.

"Hi Serena. I'd forgotten you were coming to Hogwarts," he replied absently.

She pouted at him. He'd forgotten that she was the same age as him. "It's because I'm short, isn't it?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

Ron didn't notice the warning signs. "Maybe, I don't know," he said.

"Boys!" she muttered as she stalked back to her mother.

"Fred? George? Where are you?" Mrs Weasley called out.

"Coming, mum," replied Fred, hopping off the train.

Serena didn't understand how people could mix Fred and George up, they looked different to her and she always knew which was which, no matter how hard they tried to confuse her. It was one of their favourite hobbies. Molly had just noticed a spot of dirt on Ron's face, and had pulled out a handkerchief and begun to clean it off.

"_Mum_ – geroff." He said and finally wriggled free. _Ha! Serves him right for calling me short_, she thought, even though he had never actually come out and said it.

"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" Said George in a baby voice.

"Oh, shut up."

"Where is Percy?" Caterina asked Molly.

"He's coming now," she replied, pointing over to a red head, sticking out over the crowd of first-years.

Percy strode up to them, wearing his Hogwarts robes and sticking his chest out so that people would notice his shiny silver prefects badge.

"I can't stay long, mother," Percy told Mrs Weasley. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves–"

"Oh, are you a _prefect_, Percy?" Fred asked, with an air of surprise. "You should have said something, we had no _idea_!"

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said George, screwing his eyebrows together as though thinking hard, "Once–"

"Or twice–"

"A minute–"

"All summer–" Serena snorted with laughter, and saw her mother cover her mouth with her hand. (A/N Sorry this is one of my fav parts in philosopher's stone, I had to put it in)

"Oh, shut up," said Percy, getting frustrated at the twins.

"All right, dear. Well, have a good term – send me an owl when you get there," Molly said to Percy, kissing him on the cheek, and when he left she turned on the twins. "Now you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've – you've blown up a toilet or –"

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet," said Fred, looking slyly at his twin.

"Great idea though, thanks mum!"

"It's _not funny_. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, Mrs Weasley. I'll take care of ickle Ronniekins," Serena said, even though she couldn't really call him little, seeing as he was about a foot taller than her.

"Thank you, Serena," Molly sighed in relief, and hugged her. (I just love the Weasley twins)

Harry watched the red headed family from his compartment and he recognised the beautiful gold-haired girl from Ollivander's wand shop.

"Hey, mum, guess who we just met on the train?" said one of the twins.

"You know that black-haired boy who was near us at the station? Know who he is?"

"Who?" asked the golden-haired girl.

"_Harry Potter!_"

"Oh, mum, can I go on the train and see him, mum, oh please…" pleaded the young red-head girl.

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo."

"Is he really, George–"

"Fred," said the golden-haired girl, absently.

"–oh, Fred how do you know?" asked the youngest boy.

"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there – like lightning."

"Do you think he remembers what you-know-who looks like?"

"I forbid you to ask him, Fred–"

"George," the girl corrected.

"Oh, right, George. Don't you _dare_. The boy doesn't need reminding of _that_ on his first day at school."

"Alright, keep your hair on!" one of the twins said as the whistle sounded.

"Molly, we had better hurry up and get them on the train," said the tall silver-haired woman standing next to the red-heads.

"Oh, all right Caterina. Right, you lot, onto the train." She said, and the boys and girl clambered onboard.

The girl leant out the window and received a kiss on the cheek from the silver-haired woman.

"Bye mum."

The young red haired girl began to cry.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls!" said a twin.

"And a Hogwarts toilet seat!" and the two girls began to laugh.

"_FRED_–"

"George."

"_Both of you!_"

"Only joking mum!" they said, and the train began to move.

(A.N. this part is basically the same, so you could skip it until the stars and not miss anything important)

The four kids waved to their parents and the girl, who, half laughing and half crying, ran to keep up with the train until it became too fast for her, and she fell back and waved to them, sadly.

Harry watched the girl and two mothers disappear as the train rounded a corner. The door to the compartment slid open and the youngest red-headed boy slid into the compartment.

"Er, is anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing to the seat opposite Harry. "It's just, everywhere else is full."

Harry shook his head and gestured for the boy to sit down, which he did. He glanced at Harry, then quickly looked out the window and pretended that he hadn't. He still had the black mark on his nose.

"Hey, Ron."

The compartment door slid open again, and the twins came in. "Listen, we're going down the train – Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," Ron mumbled, and shivered.

"Harry," one of the twins said solemnly, "let us introduce ourselves. Fred and George Weasley. And this is our little brother, Ron. See you later, then!"

"Bye," Harry and Ron said. The two young wizards slid the compartment door shut.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out when they left.

Harry nodded.

"Really? I thought it might have been one of Fred and Georges jokes," he said. "Have you really got the…you know…" he pointed at Harry's forehead.

Harry lifted up his fringe to show Ron the lightning scar. He stared at his head.

"Wow. So that's where You-Know-Who–"

"Yes, but I don't remember anything except for a green light."

"Nothing?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Nope, nothing."

"Wicked." He said, and stared for a minute, before realising that he was staring and returned to looking out the window.

The compartment door slid open again.

(A/N now not the same, don't skip)

The train went around a bend, and Serena couldn't see her mother or Ginny anymore, so she turned around with a sigh and picked up her trunk and cat carrier.

"See you later," she said to the three boys, and walked down the hallway.

She checked in several compartments before finding one with an empty seat. She opened the door, and was about to ask if she could sit down, when she saw who was sitting in the opposite chair.

"Oh, it's you." Serena said bluntly to the pale-faced, blonde-haired boy.

"That's not very nice. I'm so very hurt," Draco said sarcastically. "If your father–"

"My father is dead. Buried six feet under. And I am very happy about that, as he can't have been a very good father to leave me and my mother, and he just _had _to make an arrangement with your father!" she said, and slammed the compartment door shut as she stalked off.

She would have loved to see his face, confused and angry at not having the last word. _Arrogant, stuck up scum, slimy, horrid, little GIT!_ She thought, as she paced down the walkway. She saw Ron sitting in a compartment with an empty seat next to him, and she slid open the door to find herself looking at Harry Potter. _Rysendri's are never surprised…_and she kept the surprise of her face.

"Harry," she greeted him with a nod, and he looked surprised that she knew him and that she didn't look surprised.

She wrenched her eyes from the emerald green one's of Harry's, and turned to Ron.

"Do you mind if I sit in here? The only other free space is in the same compartment as Malfoy, little git," she said, and without waiting for an answer, she sat down and continued brooding.

Serena finally decided that she had brooded enough, after Harry and Ron had a conversation about wizarding families, and (of course) money.

"…until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about magic, or my parents, or Voldemort–" Ron gasped, and Serena raised an eyebrow at Harry.

"What?" he asked, looking confused.

"Ron is shocked and horrified that you said Voldemort." Ron then looked even more shocked and horrified, and stared at her.

"_You said You-Know-Who's name!_" Serena grinned evilly at him, and Harry looked confused.

"I'm not trying to sound important or anything, I just didn't know you shouldn't say his name," said Harry, looking remorseful. "You see? I've got loads to learn…I bet I'll be the worst in the class."

"Don't worry Harry," Serena said, "you wont be."

"Yeah, There's loads of people who come from muggle families who learn quick enough."

"You see? Nothing to worry about!" she said, and smiled at him, and noted it's devastating effect. _Ha, I'll get you yet, Harry Potter!_

"Thanks. Er, by the way, what's your name?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Serena Rysendri," and she held out her hand for him to shake, which he took without hesitation.

"Hey, you should tell him your title, Serena," said Ron with a smirk. She looked horrified. "If you don't, I will."

"You are a cruel person, Ronald Weasley. What have I ever done to you?" he opened his mouth to tell her. "No, don't answer that! It's a rhetorical question. _Idiot_," she mumbled.

"MEW!" cried Ebony, from inside the cat carrier.

"Oh, poor baby! I didn't let you out. Here you go," she said and she let her kitten out.

"Don't you dare! What about poor Scabbers?" cried Ron.

"Oh, do not worry, ickle Ronniekins, she does not like rodents!" she told him, and continued to let Ebony out of the carrier.

"Er, who's Scabbers?" inquired Harry.

"Oh, he's just my useless rat."

Ebony climbed out of the cage and jumped onto Serena's shoulder. Ron moved his hands up to his breast pocket, and encased the lump there with them.

"Oh, good grief, Ron," Serena said, and pulled a small golden mouse out of her own pocket, then put it on her cat's head. Ebony just purred, and Pyrite the mouse fell asleep on her head.

"See? And besides, Scabbers is too big for her to eat."

Ron pulled away his hands, and brought Scabbers out, placing him on the seat beside him, where the rat promptly went back to sleep.

At twenty past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor, and the compartment door opened up to reveal a smiling, dimpled woman with a trolley of assorted lollies.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" she asked.

Harry leapt to his feet and examined the cart, but Ron muttered about evil mothers and sandwiches.

"Never had any of these before, have you Harry?" Serena asked him.

"Nope, never had any money for _anything_ before…"

"Well, let me buy you some. We'll have some of everything, please."

"Oh, no. I'll pay for half," Harry said, looking horrified that she would spend all that money for him.

"It's alright, really." She countered.

"I have plenty of money," he said, and pulled out several galleons, sickles and knuts.

"Oh, fine then," she said, giving up, and paid for half of the food.

They went back into the compartment and tipped the several thousand (ok, that might be a _slight_ exaggeration) lollies onto the empty seat.

"Little bit hungry then?" asked Ron sarcastically.

"Absolutely starved!" Harry replied, and took a bit out of a pumpkin pasty.

Ron took out a lumpy package, which he unwrapped and revealed four small sandwiches. He continued to pull apart all four to check their contents.

"Argh! She forgot that I don't like corned beef"

"I'll trade you for one of these," said Harry, holding out a pumpkin pasty.

"You don't want these, they're all dry. She hasn't got much time, what with there being four of us at home."

"Oh, come on Ron," cajoled Serena, and she held out a chocolate frog, knowing that they were his favourite. "I'll trade you for one of these… Oh, well. If you don't want it, I might just throw it away. After all, I only eat them for the cards, and I already have the largest collection in Britain, so…" she walked over to the window, "wouldn't it be a shame if there was an Agrippa card in here?"

"ARGH!" Ron yelled, and grabbed the frog before she let go.

Harry smiled at her, knowing that she had just tricked him into taking the chocolate frog. He took a chocolate frog from the pile and opened it up.

"Oh, cool! They have cards. So this is Dumbledore?" Said Harry when he looked at the card, and saw a man wearing half-moon glasses, had a long crooked nose and flowing silver hair, beard and moustache.

"Oh, can I have a look? I haven't got any Dumbledore's yet. _He_ won't trade for an Agrippa. Says that he'd prefer to find it the hard way."

"Sure, here."

Serena turned the card over to read the back, Serena turned the card over, read it, then handed it back to Harry, who read the back and then looked at the front again.

"He's gone!" he yelped.

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron.

"He'll come back eventually."

"You know, in the muggle world, people just stay put." Harry told Ron.

"Really? They don't move at all? Weird!"

When the houses in the background changed to woods, and dark green hills, a round-faced boy quietly knocked and came into the compartment looking tearful.

"Hello Neville, what's happened?" Serena asked him. Neville's grandmother was one of her mother's regular house guests.

"Oh, hello Serena. Have you seen a toad at all?"

The three of them shook their heads, and Neville wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"Er, He'll turn up," Harry told him, trying to cheer the boy up.

"Yes, well, if you see him…" he mumbled as he left the compartment.

"Don't know why he's so bothered. If I had brought a toad I would have lost it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers so I can't talk…" he said, and looked at his rat, which was snoozing peacefully on his lap. "He might have died and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference! And I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"

Ron rummaged around in his trunk for a minute, before finally pulling out a battered old wand. It was chipped in some places and there was a white spot, glittering at the end.

"Unicorn's hair's starting to poke out. Anyway–" he had just raised his wand, when the compartment door slid open again.

"Another friend of your's Serena?" he asked, but she shook her head. It was a girl with a ton of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said.

"We already told him we hadn't–" started Serena.

"Ooh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then," the girl said and sat down.

"Er, ok…" he said, looking taken aback.

He cleared his throat and started;

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." He said, and waved his wand.

Nothing happened.

"Are you sure that was a real spell?" the girl asked, "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice, and they've all worked for me. No-one in my family's magic, so it was a very big surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft and wizardry there is, I've heard – I've learnt all our set books of by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – by the way, I'm Hermione Granger. And I know who you are, you're Harry Potter. I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in '_Modern Magical History_' and '_The Rise And Fall Of The Dark Arts_' and '_Great Wizarding Events Of The Twentieth Century_'."

Hermione Granger said all this very fast.

The three of them looked at each other, and were relieved to see equal amounts of confusion, as their brains tried to process so much information at the same rate a she was talking. Harry finally caught up.

"Oh, am I?"

"Harry, this is scary," said Ron, "She knows more about you than you do."

"And who are you two?" she asked them.

"Ron Weasley."

"Serena Rysendri."

"Oh, I know you, you're the _'Billionaire Heiress Of One Of The Oldest Pureblood Families In The World_', I read about you in '_The Witches Book Of Records, The Twentieth Century_' and '_Get Rich Easy, Inherit!_'. Do any of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope that I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best, Dumbledore himself was in it, you know, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Well, I guess I'd better go and look for Neville's toad. Oh, and you'd better change, I expect we'll be arriving soon." She finished, and left the compartment, leaving the three dazed eleven year olds to stare at the door.

"What kind of a title is _'Billionaire Heiress Of One Of The Oldest Pureblood Families In The World_'?" Harry asked.

"An over embellished one," replied Serena, wrinkling her nose in distaste, "With some rather unwanted consequences."

"Such as?" Harry prompted her, but before she could answer, the door slid open, for the millionth time in one trip, to reveal three boys in the doorway. It was the boy from Madam Malkin's Robe Shop.

"Him," Serena said to Harry, then turned to the boy. "What do you want, Draco?"

The pale boy looked surprised to see her, but he quickly hid it, and nodded at her in recognition. "I didn't think I'd be seeing you here Serena. I actually came here because people are saying that Harry Potter is in this compartment. I assume it's you then," he said, looking at Harry.

"Yes," he said absently. He was looking at the two overgrown boys standing beside him like bodyguards, as they were both thickset and looked extremely mean.

"Oh, This is Crabbe and Goyle. And my name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron went into an extended fit of coughing, which was probably to cover the fact that he was laughing.

"Think my name's funny, do you?" But Harry had realised that he had been laughing at Serena, who had been mouthing Malfoy's words precisely. "And I know that you're a Weasley, I've seen you at Caterina Rysendri's dinners. Thankfully from a distance. Don't know why she bothers with a pathetic bunch like you."

"My mother invites them, not only because they are good friends, but also to balance out the amount of good and evil in the house when she invites you!" Serena said. It seemed as though she had tuned her voice to be a fine weapon.

Malfoy frowned slightly, but didn't give any other identification that he had heard her.

"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He said, and held out his hand to Harry.

Harry thought that the main reason he didn't take Malfoy's hand, was because he called him by his last name, whereas everyone else had called him Harry, and seemed friendly. Plus the fact that he had just made fun of his second ever friend.

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks." And Malfoy retreated the hand.

"Very well, Potter, but I'd be careful if I were you. Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them either. Keep hanging around with riff-raff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid and it'll rub off on you."

Harry and Ron jumped up.

"You say that again…"

"Oh, going to fight us, are you?" Draco said and smirked at the two boys.

_Ah, the traditional Malfoy smirk._ He was avoiding Serena, she could tell. She stood up and walked over between Draco and the other two boys.

"You're going to have to go through me, first," she told him calmly, and his smirk disappeared. She didn't mind if he did, as it would give her mother a reason to call of the arrangement. Of course, Draco's father would most likely kill him if he jeopardised that (which was just a fringe benefit), so he wouldn't. "What are you waiting for, if you're too scared to hit a girl, order your two gorillas to do the dirty work for you."

"You know perfectly well why I can't. Plus it's a rule in the Malfoy Code of Honour. And it's also counted if I order someone else to do it," he said, looking as though he had just swallowed a lemon. "Goyle, don't touch that."

The bodyguard had been about to grab a pumpkin pasty, but before he could retreat his hand, Scabbers leapt out and bit him, and he let out a horrible yell. Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, the three boys disappeared. A second later, Hermione Granger walked in the door.

"What has been going on?" she asked, bossily, looking at the scattered sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by the tail.

"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said, ignoring Hermione. He looked more closely at Scabbers, and then exclaimed, "No – I don't believe it – he's gone back to sleep!"

"You seem to know Malfoy well," said Harry.

"Unfortunately, yes. We grew up together, though I spent most of the time imagining his slow and painful death," she replied, with the same look of distaste as she had worn before. "He seems to have met you too, Harry."

Harry explained about meeting him at Madam Malkin's in Diagon Alley.

"I've heard of his family, never actually met them but I've seen them at the opposite end of Serena's house," Ron said darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they were bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it, though, he says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

Serena suddenly remembered that Hermione was standing in the doorway.

"Can we help you?" she asked the brown haired girl.

"You'd better hurry up and get changed, I've just been up to the front to ask the driver how long we're going to be and he says that we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"It was Scabbers who was fighting, not us," Ron told her, scowling. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

"Hey! I'm a girl too, you know!" protested Serena. "It doesn't matter, anyway, it's not like you're going to strip."

"Fine, I'll leave. But I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," Hermione told them in a sniffy voice. "Oh, and you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" Serena tried to cover her giggles with a fit of coughing when Ron glared at her, and Hermione left the compartment huffily.

It was starting to get dark outside, and the lights in their compartment came on, just as they were putting on their long, black robes. Ron's were a bit too short for him, and his sneakers were visible from underneath. Serena's mother had insisted on getting a set of custom-made designer robes (after all, what use was a billion galleons if you didn't use it?), and so her robes fit her perfectly, showing off her form, and it had several secret compartments. She quietly slid her wand into the one in her right sleeve, for quick access.

A voice echoed through the train: "_We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately._"

Serena suddenly felt nervous, and she looked at the two boys and saw that they had both paled slightly. They crammed the last of the sweets into their pockets before joining the crowd in the corridor.

The train slowed down, and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform.

They were finally at Hogwarts.

**

* * *

Author's Notes**

I am only putting up this much of first year, as I'm sure you'll get the general drift of things. If there's anything important then I'll be writing it in as a flashback or something later in the story.

This is a bit of what happens in the other years:

**1st year**: Serena was sorted into Gryffindor (of course), everything went by basically the same, everything that didn't and is important will probably be about later on in the fic. Add a few witty and funny comments now and then by Serena, a few letters from her mother, and more presents, and you've got it. At the end of the year when her mother hears about old Voldie trying to return, she suddenly gets the urge to go on a world tour with Serena, so Serena and Caterina leave at the end of the summer holidays with Serena doing home schooling from her mother, who has a special permit for this from the ministry.

**2nd year**: Serena was kept up to date on the happenings by Harry, Ron, and Hermione by owl post, and they of her life, which mainly consisted of where she currently was and what they were doing. Hermione took it as her personal duty to describe every spell and potion that they were currently learning to the poor girl, so that she wouldn't fall behind, and even set her homework to do.

**3rd year**: Again, everything was kept up to date, and Serena particularly liked the hippogriffs and wished she had been there (though that was mainly just because she wanted to see Draco get his comeuppance for being rude), but was glad she didn't have to meet the dementors. She wanted to meet professor Lupin when Harry told her that he knew his parents to see if he knew her mother or father when they were in school. She was even told that Sirius was innocent in a subtle letter from Hermione.

**4th year**: Basically the same as the previous years, but she did manage to convince her mother to let her see the tasks when she found out Harry was chosen (so she could keep an eye on him), and they met a couple of times then, with Ron managing to get a lecture from Serena as well as Hermione about being jealous.

**5th year**: Serena was probably the only person Harry didn't yell at (it's hard to yell at someone in a letter unless it's a howler), and got to meet Remus when he came and talked to her mother. She was extremely jealous that she couldn't be a part of the DA, and got a list of all the spells they were practicing so that she could keep up. In one letter, Serena went into a long tirade about nasty, evil, slimy, DADA teachers who wear annoying pink, frilly bows. Harry had then been in a very good mood for a grand total of two hours, then he had a lesson with said nasty, evil, slimy, bow wearing teacher.

Many thanks to my first reviewer, Phoenix Maiden, and also thanks Alexandra for bothering to write a review for me, it makes me feel special…

**PLEASE REVIEW**, I need to know if I'm doing anything wrong… but please don't be too harsh, this is my first official story.

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